West Mifflin, Pennsylvania Man Enters Guilty Pleas To Multiple Firearms & Narcotics Trafficking Offenses

Wednesday, September 4, 2024, 9:00 A.M. ET. 3 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

PITTSBURGH, PA.- Yesterday, U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan reported a 30-year-old former West Mifflin man, who is a previously convicted felon, appeared on Wednesday, August 28, 2024, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and entered guilty pleas on four counts of violating federal firearms and narcotics trafficking laws.

     Last Wednesday, Giante Hilliard, 30, appeared before U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan and pleaded guilty to four counts of violating federal laws. During his court hearing, Hilliard admitted guilt related to three separate incidents from late March through May 2023.

First Incident

     According to documents filed with the court, the first incident occurred on March 28, 2023, when Hilliard was involved in an exchange of gunfire that took place outside of a McKees Rock, Pennsylvania, bar. Hilliard and another person left the bar and started to drive off. As they went, a third person shot at the car that Hilliard was in. Hilliard returned fire from the vehicle’s passenger seat, with several muzzle flashes captured on video surveillance.

Second Incident

     The second incident occurred on May 8, 2024, when Hilliard was a passenger in a motor vehicle that Police Officers attempted to stop. Rather than complying, the driver of the car rammed three police vehicles, allowing one of the Police Officers to notice that Hilliard had a black firearm as the vehicle sped off. A short time later, Police Officers located the disabled vehicle abandoned near a convenience store.

     Nearby surveillance video captured the driver and Hilliard exiting the vehicle together and splitting up, fleeing in different directions. In the video, Hilliard is seen holding a black bag that he attempted to hide under a dumpster. The black bag was recovered by Police Officers and contained a loaded Smith & Wesson handgun and just around 300 glassine bags of suspected heroin. Later, laboratory results confirmed the bags contained heroin and fentanyl mix. Ballistics testing of the handgun recovered from the black bag confirmed that it was the handgun that was used in the March 28, 2023, shooting incident, and the handgun had previously been reported stolen.

     Based on the evidence collected during the May 8th incident, law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Hilliard.

Third Incident

     The third incident occurred on May 31, 2023, when Hilliard posted a video on a social media platform of himself with another firearm.

     Based on the information from the video and other evidence gathered during the investigation, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for a residence where Hilliard was hiding out and the vehicle he was driving.

     Law enforcement surrounded the house, but Hilliard refused to exit the house. After an hours-long standoff with law enforcement, law enforcement deployed tear gas, and Hilliard finally emerged from the house and was taken into custody.

     A subsequent search of the house uncovered a box of ammunition and 100 stamped narcotics packaging bags containing the same markings as the bags recovered in the May 8th incident at the convenience store. A search of Hillard’s vehicle uncovered another loaded firearm, a “ghost gun” without a serial number.

Enters Guilty Pleas

     According to U.S. Attorney Olshan, prior to these three incidents, Hilliard had been convicted of multiple federal offenses, including aggravated assault, possession of an unlicensed firearm, and terroristic threats. Federal law prohibits a convicted felon from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

     On Wednesday, Hillard pleaded guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm; Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin and Fentanyl; Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime; and two counts of Being a Felon in Possession of Ammunition. 

     When sentenced, Hillard faces a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of life in federal prison on the charges he pleaded guilty to and up to $1,750,000 in fines and assessments.